1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rackets that are used in sports activities such as tennis, racquetball, squash, badminton and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to rackets and electronic devices that attach to rackets and gather data from the strings of the racket.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many sports that are played with a racket. One of the most popular of these sports is tennis. In the game of tennis, the racket includes an oblong head section supported by a handle. A string is strung back and forth through the head section of the racket, thereby producing a mesh structure. The mesh structure creates the surface that is used in the game to contact the ball.
In the prior art, the head sections of rackets have been typically manufactured with periodic apertures. To create the mesh structure across the head of the racket, a single unbroken string is woven through the various apertures. As the string is being woven through the apertures in the head section of the racket, the string is kept at a preset tension that is desired by the player.
Since the stringing of a racket with a single string is a complicated process, most players have their rackets professionally strung. A professional stringer typically has a stringing machine that assists in weaving the string through the various apertures in the head section of the racket at the appropriate tension. One problem associated with having a racket professionally strung is that it is expensive and inconvenient. If the racket string breaks during a game, the player cannot fix the racket string and continue with the game. Rather, a player must either change rackets or stop playing.
Recreational tennis players often own inexpensive rackets. Commonly, a recreational player can buy an inexpensive new pre-strung racket for less money than it would cost to have their old racket professionally pre-strung. However, players with expensive rackets have little choice but to restring their rackets if the string breaks.
When the racket string of a conventional racket breaks, the string becomes loose and leaves the weave pattern. Since only one string is used, the broken string eventually unwinds to a point where the racket is no longer functional.
The primary reason that a string in a racket breaks is due to fatigue. When a ball strikes a racket, the string is stretched. Once the ball rebounds from the racket, the string again contracts. The stretching and contracting cycles of the string cause fatigue in the material of the string. Depending upon the tension of the string, the material of the string and the diameter of the string, the string may break between a few hundred strikes and a few thousand strikes.
In the prior art, there are several electronic devices that attach to rackets. Many of these electronic devices are used to count calories or to keep score of the game. Consider, for example, the score keeping device in U.S. Pat. No, D458,171 to Lin, entitled Racket Counter. Consider also the calorie counter in U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,616 to Lin, entitled Calorie Counter Racket.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,042 to Landsman, entitled Electronic Athletic Equipment, a system is shown where sensors are attached to various strings in a racket. The sensors are used to determine if a player is striking a ball with the proper portion of the racket. Although this system does collect data from the strings relating to ball impact, the system requires a specialized racket head having sensors placed around the periphery of the string field. Such systems do not track impacts for the purpose of determining string fatigue and the statistical probability that the string will break.
A need exists in the art for a system that can be added to standard racket designs that counts how many times the racket has been used to impact a ball and provides some indication of when a racket's strings are approaching failure. In this manner, a racket can be serviced prior to the failure of the string and the string will not fail during play. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.